Third baby hippo born in Virginia zoo in the past five years

RICHMOND, Virginia: A female pygmy hippopotamus delivered a healthy calf at the Metro Richmond Zoo earlier this month, officials said.

This was the third baby hippo born at the zoo within the past five years.

The mother hippo, Iris, gave birth to a baby girl on December 9 after being pregnant for seven months, zoo officials said. The baby, who doesn't have a name yet, is Iris's third calf with the father, Corwin. She is also the second hippo calf born this December at the zoo.

"Most people don't get a hippopotamus for Christmas at all, so we feel lucky to have received two over the years," zoo officials said in a news release this week.

The baby had a checkup five days after she was born and weighed 15 pounds (6.8 kilograms). The zoo said fully grown pygmy hippos can weigh up to 600 pounds (270 kilograms).

Pygmy hippos, found in West Africa, are endangered, with only about 2,500 adult pygmy hippos left in the wild. Unlike regular hippos, pygmy hippos are mostly solitary or live in pairs rather than in groups.

Because of this, Iris's two older calves were moved to other zoos when they grew up. There, they could meet future mates and help conserve the species, the zoo explained.